MyHeritage: GEDCOM Export and Import Issues

MyHeritage's GEDCOM handling differs from FamilySearch and Ancestry in a genuinely important way: instead of a file-size ceiling, its limits are tied to your account tier and how many people are in the tree — and the export path runs through desktop software, not the website.

Exporting from MyHeritage requires Family Tree Builder

There's no "download GEDCOM" option on myheritage.com itself. To get a GEDCOM file out of MyHeritage, you need Family Tree Builder, MyHeritage's free desktop application. Inside it: File → Export GEDCOM, then "Save as" to name the file, choose a save location, and step through the wizard — you can optionally add author information, a language preference, and choose whether to export the entire tree or a specific branch, before finishing.

Importing creates a new tree, every time

When you import a GEDCOM into MyHeritage — via Family Tree → Import GEDCOM on the website — it always creates a brand-new tree. MyHeritage does not support using a GEDCOM import to merge into or sync with a tree you already have on the platform. If you're re-uploading an updated export from your desktop software after making changes, that produces a second, separate tree rather than updating the first — worth planning for if you re-import periodically, since you'll otherwise end up managing multiple parallel trees.

The real limit is people, not megabytes

MyHeritage doesn't publish a hard GEDCOM file size cap, and very large files simply take longer to process — you'll get a confirmation email once it's done, and MyHeritage's own guidance says to check spam folders or retry if it's still processing after 24 hours. The actual constraint is a person-count limit tied to your account tier: a free account caps a tree at 250 people. Upload a GEDCOM with more than that, and the tree still imports, but goes into restricted mode — you can view and edit the people already there, but can't add anyone new until you upgrade. A Premium subscription raises that ceiling to 2,500 people; higher tiers remove the limit entirely.

If you're on a free account and your file is over 250 people but you don't want to upgrade, splitting the file down to a specific branch before importing — using the Tree Splitter to extract direct ancestors or a single line of descendants — keeps the imported tree under the free-tier cap while still giving you the part of the file you actually need.

A caveat for DNA users specifically

If your MyHeritage tree is linked to DNA results, replacing that tree with a freshly imported GEDCOM has consequences worth knowing before you do it: MyHeritage's own documentation notes that replacing a DNA-linked tree loses attached photos, clears "Theories of Family Relativity" results, and causes previously reviewed Smart Matches to reappear as unreviewed. Deleting a DNA-linked tree doesn't automatically relink your DNA results to whatever tree you import next — that has to be done manually.

What doesn't come through GEDCOM

As with every platform, photos aren't part of the GEDCOM standard — they have to be uploaded separately after import, and any Smart Match or Theory of Family Relativity data is MyHeritage-specific and won't be in the file at all. If your file predates GEDCOM 7.0's structured citation and media-bundling features, see Does My Software Support GEDCOM 7.0? to check whether Family Tree Builder's export version is contributing to what's missing.

Sources: MyHeritage Help Center — Exporting a GEDCOM file from Family Tree Builder; Data Mining DNA — How to Upload a GEDCOM Tree to MyHeritage and Avoid Common Problems.